fossilhood

Noun

fossilhood (uncountable)

1. (rare) The state of being a fossil (mineralized remains).
   • Tossed by the waves, I felt like a trilobite on its way to fossilhood.2002, J Neil C Garcia, The Likhaan book of poetry and fiction, 2000
   • In one of our stranger follies, we deny ourselves and our loved ones the opportunity of a true lasting memorial — fossilhood — with extravagant protections...2008, Alan Weisman, The World Without Us
2. (rare) The state of being a fossil (old-fashioned).
   • A seductive and dangerous media revolution was under way, and literary fossilhood, about which he had once teased Emerson...2001, Bruce Michelson, Literary wit
   • It has come to be a mark of narrowness and fossilhood to be a devout believer in Christ and His Cross.2006, Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture